We’re going to be closed from Thursday June 6 – Sunday June 9 for Sacramento Pride weekend. We’ve got some big plans for Sac Pride, on Saturday June 8 and Sunday June 9, and it’ll take some prep in the days prior and we’ll all be at Sac Pride that weekend. So join us!

We frequently get requests to use the space for community groups, one-time events, event series, projects, etc. We have a new form that makes that request process pretty easy. Click the link below for the form! Submissions are reviewed by board members and decisions are made based upon capacity, community needs/interest, and relevance to the Library’s mission, vision, and goals (updated version of these coming this summer!). Each submission will be responded to within 2 calendar weeks, by email or phone.

Hi! It’s Monica again! I wanted to share one of our earliest discoveries in the archival storage. Chris, our volunteer coordinator, and I were bringing boxes from the archives. There’s a few boxes unmarked, which meant we had to go through dusty boxes to see what we could work on. We found a box full of newsletters and random t-shirts—how could we make sense of this? As we dug deeper in there, we found a file of newsletters advertising gays in the outdoors. Interesting! I don’t remember if I walked out of the storage and asked questions later, but we added this box to my workload.

Since these boxes are over twenty years old, we had to transfer the cruddy boxes into nice, archival boxes to protect our precious queer treasures. As we transferred, I went through some of the items. The first one I found was a patch with a rainbow and what looked like the Sierras.

First of all, how cute is this patch? My archival detective skills hinted that G.L.S. most likely meant Gay Lesbian, but what did the “S” stand for? I know of the Sierra Club, but did that mean the Sierra Club that was inspired by the complicated-environmental-movement -influential-John-Muir? Was this a chapter? A new club? Maybe fabulous folx rebelliously took the name and started their own club. There were more files to go through, so I randomly pulled out some loose newsletters:

This group was thorough! In their newsletter, Outdoor Adventures of Sacramento stated they formed by a guy “frustrated with trying to meet other Gay people who liked to meet other Gay people who liked to get outdoors (beyond the patios of Faces.)” I personally can relate to this scenario: I’m not into clubs and bars, but I’m into hiking, camping, bicycling, and being around likeminded (queer) people, so I understood where the founder was coming from. From these items I found, here’s what I gathered:

Outdoor Adventures of Sacramento was active from 1985-2001. They were a group of gay men and lesbian women who went on almost weekly outings in the Sacramento area to nature trails, river floats, campouts, backpacking trips and the occasional wine tasting. They explored most of the Sierra Nevadas and California Coastal range with the maps to prove it. When they finished a trip, they would publish a field report and mail it out to their adventure buddies. These newsletters would also announce the next outing and any other important news. What I found inspiring was if they weren’t hiking, they would organize a potluck and enjoy each other’s company.

This find was so inspiring. This was before social media, texting, and accessible internet. This was before Google maps. This group found community with each other, and gay couples in their hiking gear and backpack flannel are beaming back at me with their arms lovingly around their partners on trailheads and campouts. The interracial couple resonated with me, as my partner is white and I am Latinx; I felt a sense that we could maybe belong here, too. I sense that this would resonate with fellow LLACE community members, too.

As someone who follows and reads outdoor enthusiast print magazines and shops at recreational co-ops, the scene is very white, cis-gender, and heteronormative. I don’t see myself in many of the ad campaigns and unless I’m hiking with my own crew or Latino Outdoors, I don’t often see people who look like me. I think if I were in my 30s, and I just moved to Sacramento in the late 1980s, there would be a place for me explore with other queer community. I wouldn’t be limited to just Faces or the Lavender Bars of Sacramento, but had the option of going to the river with some fun lesbians. I’m looking forward to accessioning this box of archives and learning more about the people who lived, and lived out loud on the nature trail. Also, I hope to find the co-founder who created the logo seen above.

Hi everyone! I’m Monica, and I’m one of the volunteers here at LLACE. I’m currently a graduate student working on my MLIS (Masters in Library Information Science) degree, so my world is mostly library work. I am currently taking an Archives and Manuscripts class, so when an opportunity came up at LLACE to create finding aids and accession are collection, I enthusiastically asked if I could be an intern.

Putting the “A” in Archives

We are putting the “A” in archives here at LLACE. Many of our older LGBTQ community members have graciously donated their items to us; sometimes these items are personal papers, and sometimes these items are from local Sacramento events. We house these collections in storage nearby, which we are currently accessioning (a fancy word archival word for organizing) and creating finding aids for. A finding aid for archivists and historians is extremely important; this document allows people who want to do research to look at this aid so they have an idea of what we house in our archives.

As an archival intern, I’m here twice a week to accession, process, and create a finding aid for a few collections. I’m very ambitious, and plan on working on up to three collections: Sacramento Valley Vets, Open Book, and Outdoor Adventures of Sacramento. I genuinely enjoy learning social history—there is so much to learn from our past, and as a queer person, I recognize that us LGBTQIA+ folx don’t see ourselves in history. LLACE matters because we don’t just house materials for public use, we house materials that document queer history. LLACE is the home of queer narratives and stories so folx can see themselves represented in history through our archival project. As being a part of the Sacramento community for over twenty years, if the walls here could talk they would have so much to say about the fabulous culture here in Northern California.

You might hear, “In order to understand the present, you must first understand the past,” or “In order to prevent mistakes now, you must learn from the past.” As someone who is handing archives, this is an opportunity to see firsthand the documents that helped shape the narrative today. These are letters, posters, newsletters, documents that shaped the gay Sacramento community. Sometimes, these documents show a world where queer community was creating change; sometimes they show the challenges they faced at the time. From the looks of some of the photos and fliers, these folx knew how to have a fun time, too. [Read: so many drag events and skinny-dipping!] As I’m looking through items, I look for signs of intersectionality and points of pivotal change; the type of change that you look back on and go, “Wow, that really happened, our lives are so different because of this.”

So if you’re at LLACE and see someone at a table, with a box and a giant stack of papers and laptop, that’s me. I’m most likely deep in my process, but a gentle “Hello! Are you Monica?” is welcome. I could probably use a break at that point.

Souvenir sing-a-long from the June 25, 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day

We Are the Ants is a novel about figuring out our place in the universe. It’s a coming of age tale that shows the power of friendships, love, staying true to yourself, and not letting labels define you. This book will make you laugh and at times it will definitely make you cry. It addresses just how cruel bullying can be, but also shows how important our friends are in our times of need and that although at times we feel as insignificant as “ants,” to those who love us we are the world.

While watching Call Me By Your Name, I felt less like I was watching a movie and more like I was observing the real lives of people unfolding in front of me. The film was very touching and the acting was superb. The characters had depth to them and at times you could feel their emotions without them having to say anything. The relationships between parents and child and romantic relationships were not your typical, over the top movie relationships. I could easily see what happened in the film playing out in real life and the ending was not a fairy tale which is much appreciated. I would recommend this movie to anyone as I feel that it was borderline perfect, even down to the soundtrack.

The Library’s two 20th anniversary celebrations last weekend were so awesome–we hope you made it. We had a youth-friendly event with music and cake at the Library from 3-6PM where we had a collaging/modpodge tile-making activity, live screen printing by artist Xabi Soto, and stories from two of the Library’s original founders. We also had a 21+ celebration later that night at Sac Brew Bike bar with performances, snacks from Evan’s Kitchen and I <3 Teriyaki, more cake, and a beer/cider bar. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence stopped by and presented the Library with a check for $500 from a recent fundraiser (thank you so much, Capitol City Sisters!). Below are some pretty photos from the festivities. If you missed out on a shirt, tote, or print from screenprinting artist Xabi Soto, there is a limited supply at the Library. Shirts are $15-20 (sliding scale), totes are $10, and prints are free! And, as always, support the Library for a further 20 years by purchasing a membership or donating your funds/time.

Leftover shirts, totes, and prints are in our display case in the front.

Temple Kirk performs at the evening celebration.

The Capitol City Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence present a $500 check to the Lavender Library board.

The Lavender Library was founded 20 years ago this summer! Help us celebrate with two FREE celebrations, one family/youth friendly and one 21+.

1st Celebration: Family/Youth Friendly Crafting Event, 3-6pm
This will take place in the late afternoon at the Lavender Library and will include snacks, crafts, music, and more! Details coming soon.

2nd Celebration: 21+ Event, 7-10pm
This will take place in the evening at the Sacramento Brew Bike bar location on 19th between P and O. They’ll have a beer/cider bar (cash/card accepted) and we’ll have some snacks available, too. Evan’s Kitchen is donating some delicious appetizers! Music and spoken word performances by Annah Anti-Palindrome, JJ Barrón-Rivas, GT Velasco, Dolores 5000, KC Shane, and Temple K. Kirk. More sponsors to come!

So you’re the new board president! Congrats! What do you hope to focus on in the next year or so?

Thank you, I am so excited to continue contributing to this org in a new role. I am ready to push this org further than I have before. I have a vision of strengthening our values of being an inclusive, intersectional and radical space. I hope to have a bolder voice in the Sacramento Area LGBTQIA community and better reflect its beautiful diversity. As a queer latinx woman in the organization, I am more energized than ever for our next growth spurt. I want to bring to an end to queer spaces are primarily white, cis and privileged and I want folx to know this all-volunteer-run org truly belongs to them. This is OUR space to claim. The changes I’ve seen at the Lavender Library have been rapid and I’m ready to help shape and build its next chapter.

I heard you studied Women’s Studies in college. Why did you choose that major? What was your favorite class or paper?

I started doing grassroots feminist organizing since I was 17. I went to a Ladyfest I.E. meeting and never stopped, I knew that feminism was my passion and made it my path. I attended community college in Riverside for a few years and eventually made my way to Sac State.

I had the fortune of having some really incredible professors, classes and classmates. It’s difficult to highlight only one topic, but one of my favorites was deconstructing queerness and transness in the Middle East. More importantly, illustrating the parallels of how culture and politics influence the marginalization of subcommunities within the Middle East & the US. (Also there are some rad films that challenge US paternalism in POC communities at the library!)

What do you do for a living, when you’re not volunteering at the library?

I am a Project Manager at a local nonprofit called Sacramento Covered. We are an amazing org that assists individuals navigating the healthcare system. If you are not sure what your health coverage situation is, definitely feel feel to connect with me.

We also do advocacy on the local level for our undocumented community and are working with the city to connect individuals experiencing homelessness to health and housing.

Favorite show right now?

Definitely just finished Season 2 of Queer Eye on Netflix. (It’ll give you all the feels).

Last song/album you listened to?

Currently in love with with Janelle Monáe’s “I Like That”.

What do you like to do for self-care?

My self-care right now is working on house projects and trying new things. Meaning I’m painting my kitchen, taking latinx queer bachata dance classes and going to Paris (yes, actual Paris, France).

Any advice for a queer/trans youth reading this right now?

The future is intersectional. You are a force. You have to so much to bring to the table and are already impacting our community with your visibility, presence and voice. Don’t hold back.

May/June has been BUSY! The Lavender Library had a whirlwind of outreach this last month or so, with about 18 different outreach/tabling activities and events at the Library, in addition to our regular groups and whatnot. We hope we saw you at one of them. If we missed you, there’s always future opportunities. Check out the list of events below to see all the places we’ve been, and stay updated about future activities and events via social media or our calendar on this website.

Be Brave Be You (Youth Conference, Sac Unified School District) – May 19th

Hey friends, there’s a new book club in town–Ellipses! The club is going to focus on queer and trans articles and books that will give the community access to its history and knowledge, cuz knowledge = power. Join us for the first installment on Sunday May 13 at 2PM when we discuss the first couple chapters from Susan Stryker’s book Transgender History, 2nd edition.

Metered street parking is available, along with a few spots in the Library’s small parking lot.